Worlds Connect
by Festus Flare
Summary: She has lived in Japan for a month; learning their language and getting accustomed to the technological aspect of life. However, she knows that she could not stay here. This was not her home, after all. Then again, what is the definition of a home? Tabitha will soon understand that, the long way around.
1. Abnormal

"Hey, wanna go to that new karaoke place that just opened up?"

"The one near the train station, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one! Hey, let's invite all the girls in class, too!"

"Sure, but… Not the new exchange student."

"Yeah, she's so weird!"

The three girls who were just conversing laughed at the terrible insult they had considered as a joke. They weren't even aware that the victim of those insults was sitting right beside them, holding her books tightly to her chest as she tried to block out the sound of their annoying voices and to hold her feelings in check. The only thing that drove her on would be the knowledge that all this would end soon. Very, very soon.

All she needed was a way to activate her magic and the right spell to open the portal back to her place.

Still, she had achieved neither of those. Her magic, despite being one of a Triangle mage, was practically useless in this world. It sometimes frustrated her whenever she thought about how she even used to have the rank of Knight, but now all that meant nothing. Perhaps sometimes, even prodigies had weaknesses too.

"Hey, you're going home, already?" a spiky haired boy said, walking up to her as she was about to walk out the classroom door.

The female only nodded and parted ways. However, the boy wouldn't have that. He had followed her right up till she had reached her shoe locker, where the girl had to put on her outdoor shoes. There, he had managed to stop her right in her tracks, flashing a kind smile that held no ulterior motives at all.

Well, maybe a little. But hey, a guy's gotta dream, right?

"Hey, wanna go to that new karaoke place after school? My treat!" he asked, hoping that the girl would accept.

Instead, she simply shook her head and walked past him. If anything, she was eager in trying to get home as fast as possible.

"Then… what about dinner? Ice cream? Even a trip to the arcade?"

Once again, the aforementioned girl did not heed his calls. She had more pressing matters to attend to, and she rarely ever went out other than to go to school or to buy food. Attachment wasn't something she wanted to have with this world, seeing as she was needed even more in her own. Whatever this boy wanted, she didn't want to be a part of it.

As she stepped outside the school gate, though, she was once again followed by the boy who just never seemed to give up. This had gone on for too long, and her patience was wearing thin. Stopping in her tracks, the girl turned and stared at the boy with a cold gaze.

"Hiraga Saito," she said in a soft voice, barely audible for anyone to hear "Please stop following me."

The way she had phrased it, it made it sound as if the boy was a pervert who was chasing after a poor innocent girl, not like it was anything different. Still, that statement could be justified as he WAS a single male, and she IS technically a girl.

"Well, then could you please stop looking so lonely?" was the boy, Saito's honest response "I feel bad whenever I see you walking around school all alone."

Their gazes met for a few moments before the girl fixed her glasses, and walked away. Lonely? What does he know? Surely, no one would be able to understand how it feels to be her right now, so lost and afraid in a place that was nothing like the home she knew of.

In fact, there was only one, silvery moon in the sky instead of the two blue and red ones she would gaze at night every night before falling asleep.

Still, Saito was the only one who was kind to the bespectacled girl when she was at school, and she was at least aware of that. Too bad it conflicted with her wanting to have no lingering connections to this land. They could have been good friends.

"I'll be sure to see your smile one day," Saito said at last, walking up to her as he was nearing the intersection where they would part ways "Tabitha."

Tabitha; That was her name. Of course, it was merely a pseudonym used to conceal her true identity as Charlotte Hélène d'Orléans. In school, she was always known as that one weird exchange student, who spoke with no one and would barely pass her exams. She had even lied about her age, stating that she was seventeen when in truth, she was only fifteen. It was to make sure that she only needed to go to school for the least amount of time. Having to explain why she would not be enrolling next year would be a hassle. However, that didn't matter. All this was only temporary.

She couldn't believe that it had already been a month since she had appeared in this world. When she first arrived, her Japanese was weak, practically non-existent. She had struggled to try and translate each word into her own language, although she met a lot of difficulties. If she had her magic, she would have already used a Translation Spell. To make things worse, there were hiragana and katakana, not to mention the thousands of Kanji she needed to know. Honestly, how did these people learn such confusing words?

This, of course, had affected her studies. Subjects which involved reading and understanding, such as Science and Japanese, even those like English, were hard. Luckily, the teachers were kind enough to understand her dilemma and gave her extra study lessons. Currently, her favourite lessons would be Math and Art. Those subjects require the least amount of Japanese understanding, and she could pass them despite only starting to learn them, barely, that is. Even P.E. wasn't too hard for her to pass, considering all the life-threatening missions she had undergone in her younger years.

In fact, she only understood bits and pieces of what Saito had just told her, such as about her being lonely and wanting to invite her to do something. That last sentence he told her before parting ways was still a mystery, one that she would need to translate later on.

After going through a lot of books, she managed to find one language that was close enough to her own; French. Even if the writing was different, the pronunciations and words were slightly similar. She had used that to try and translate their language. Luckily, it worked. In that one month, Tabitha was finally able to read the confusing scrawls in those books she had borrowed from the local library.

As Tabitha reached the apartment building she had taken residence in, she was greeted kindly by the landlady. Nodding her head softly, the once powerful Ice Mage stepped into the elevator that took her to the second floor, where her room was located. There, she had opened the locked door and flopped onto the bed, which was neatly made with not even a single crease in sight.

The room was clean and tidy, almost spotless. If one were to go in, they wouldn't even know someone was living there. The only things that notified people of her existence was the desk which was filled with reference books and stationaries, as well as the many books stacked beside her bed, all of them regarding magic and the occult. A small laptop was also kept safely in her cupboard, where her clothes were arranged in order.

Where she got the money to buy a living arrangement as well as these items, was not that much of a mystery. When she had crossed over, she was in possession of some of the currency used in her world; New Gold. Since she was also an aristocrat, it would mean that she was holding on to a good amount. She had gone to a few jewellery shops and the likes on her first day, after escaping from a few police officers for suspicion. She did not speak at all, and only pointed to the pure gold coins she had on her. Instantly, the jaws of all the jewellers and brokers hit the floor.

She might not know the language, but she could tell a liar when she saw one. When she detected that the person was lying, she would shake her head calmly and cast a gaze that pierced their souls. After some terrifying one-sided negotiations, Tabitha managed to obtain a large sum of money. She would never actually know that the amount of money she had received was actually much more than the original price. The jewellers and brokers would soon enough make tales of the icy girl, who could terrify someone without a single word and steal their money.

She had wondered why the other students disliked her, although she had a hunch; Her obsession with magic. No matter how much they think about it, it felt childish for someone in high school to be reading books that spoke of magic and spells.

Usually, Tabitha would start surfing the web right now or translating the library books next to her bed, looking for any natural phenomenon that would have anything to do with her world. In the one month she had been here, she had grown accustomed to the high technological lifestyle that everyone lived with. It truly amazed her how wires and metal could be used to make such intricate and grand devices, all of which were used for the benefit of mankind. It also did not tire out the users much, making her question whether or not it was better than magic which only aristocrats had the ability to learn and was separate in terms of how each person could go around using their magic.

Still, peace was never truly achieved no matter how advanced the civilisation is. Tabitha had learnt of wars and feuds, all fought using firearms and vehicles of war. It sickened her, yet she knew that magic also brought out the same results. Hopefully, she would not be around when a war breaks out in Japan.

As a yawn escaped her small mouth, Tabitha noted that she felt rather tired today, and would not be able to continue her research. This was because in her mind right now, the thought of the spiky haired Japanese, Saito was lingering like a bad memory.

What were his true intentions? Tabitha kept asking herself that. After all, no normal person would honestly try to get along with other people without wanting some sort of compensation. Did he want her to do his homework? Or maybe he just wanted to brag about how he's friends with a foreigner. There was even the possibility that he wanted to use her body for obscene things.

Looking at her curveless form, though, Tabitha put that thought aside.

If only things had turned out differently, then maybe she would still be at school, learning magic with all the other school students. She had not even summoned a Familiar when that incident happened.

The Zero, Louise was up next in trying to summon a Familiar. Of course, no one expected much of her. She had absolutely zero talent whatsoever in magic, thus the nickname Zero. If anything, she was good at making things explode. Some students had walked away, hoping to steer clear of anything that might transpire due to her magic malfunctioning.

When she finished her chant, though, everyone stood agape at what appeared before her when the dust cleared up. A clear portal; a gateway to another world. Could this mean, that her Familiar was somewhere beyond that hole in the fabric of space-time?

That was when things started to go wrong. By some unknown force, Tabitha was sucked into the gaping hole without much restraint. The last thing she saw of that world was the faces of her friends, all calling for her.

"We'll save you!" Kirche, the Fire Mage called out "Please, wait for us!"

One month later, nothing had happened.

'_Maybe everyone had given up_'

That thought had sometimes crossed Tabitha's mind, though every time she would push it away. No, the school was filled with a lot of powerful magicians. They will find a way to bring her back. Not to mention her friends would miss her dearly.

But… what if they didn't want her back?

Tabitha sighed at the very thought of that. Since when did she become so pessimistic? Well, maybe it was due to the month-long wait she had to endure. If there was one thing she believed in, it was that she WILL see her home once again.

Tabitha allowed her eyes to close as she lay on the bed, still fully clothed in her school uniform. No matter, she would just have to wash the uniform later. It wasn't like she didn't have any spares.

Tomorrow was an off day, so Tabitha would use that time to read more on how to return home at the library. Knowing her classmates, they wouldn't be there. Especially since exams had just finished. If anything, only one person would actually hang around near the library, even if he didn't particularly read any books, and it was the same person who is occupying Tabitha's mind right now.

Hiraga Saito.

She still felt bad that they could not be closer friends, but this was for the best. Getting him involved in her problems would only cause more trouble for him, and she didn't want that at all. It's not like they had anything special, so he wouldn't miss her too much.

Little did Tabitha know, that as she slept peacefully on her comfortable bed, that the gears of fate were already turning. Things would never be the same in both Tabitha and Saito's worlds, and those two were smack dab right in the middle of it all.

* * *

**A/N Edited with a shitload of info from Robo Reader, who pointed out a few things that didn't make sense. If you want, you could reread the chapter. **

**Tanoshin~**


	2. Books

The sound of her own screams woke Tabitha from her slumber.

The sky blue haired girl held her chest tightly as she realised that she was panting. Her school uniform, which she had accidentally worn to bed, was wet from all the sweat she had poured out. Not even the coolness of the air conditioner could stop them from dripping onto the bed sheets. Before she knew it, tears had slowly started forming in her eyes.

It was the same nightmare again. Ever since she had appeared in this world, it was the one thing that likes to plague her mind - The same scene over and over again. No matter what she did to try and forget about it, she would always see it once again. Not like this was any different than in Halkeginia. Even there, she would always have the same nightmare.

She was a young girl again, cheerful, kind, social, an absolutely normal child. She was invited to a banquet with her mother in their honour, and the two of them had come as guests. Neither of them expecting anything to happen there. Although, the joy of her dream ends there.

Someone had poisoned her drink with an unknown potion, and Tabitha was just about to drink it. However, her mother had detected the man who gave it to her and noticed the wicked grin that had formed on his lips. In order to protect her daughter, she had taken the drink herself. The magic that was cast on the water was, in fact, one that destroys the mind. Her mother had been insane all this while, pretending that a doll was her own daughter and her daughter as a spy to the royal family.

As Tabitha wiped away her tears, the teenager wondered just what was happening to her mother back in her world. Was she doing fine? Has someone managed to cure her yet? Did she still cling onto that doll as if it was her daughter? However, Tabitha could only wonder in silence. She was still stuck here, in this world, and even if she was back in Halkeginia, it wasn't like her mother recognised her. She was still stuck in the same rut.

Maybe, and this was a big maybe, there was something she could do even while she was in this world.

The medicinal knowledge of this world is far improved compared to her own world's understanding of it. Perhaps if she researched enough medical books, she could find a way to cure her mother. It was a long shot, and she wasn't entirely sure that she could find a cure for it at all, she didn't even know what sort of brew the potion was made of.

Well, there was no use fretting over it now. If she didn't at least try something, nothing would move forward.

The icy girl opened her wardrobe and picked out an outfit to wear today. Simple and efficient, that was her motto. She didn't need any more clothes than what she needed, especially since she wasn't planning on staying in this world long. However, there was also the fact that she didn't really know what plebians wore, what more commoners from another world altogether. She had asked, in broken Japanese, for some assistance on the matter from Kurisu, a delinquent who was also popular for her fashion sense. She declined at first, but her best friend had managed to persuade her otherwise and the three of them went on a shopping spree on one of their off days.

As she finally finished dressing, Tabitha stepped out of her room and walked down the stairs back to the ground floor. There, she met the landlady who owned the building. She waved at Tabitha and invited her over, probably to have a nice morning chat.

"Ah, Tabitha," the lady asked as she was handling the money in the cashier "Going to the library today, too?"

"Yes," the girl answered matter-of-factly "I still need to finish up on my studies, Miss Nanami."

"That's what I always hear you say," the landlady, Miss Nanami, wiped her glasses with her oversized green jacket "But I've cleaned your room before, or, well, went inside, anyway. I didn't even need to do anything. Good for you. Anyway, I don't think that school really has any subjects on magic or parallel worlds, you know."

Tabitha wondered what was going through the older lady's mind. One month ago, after she had escaped from the clutches of a few police officers for arousing suspicion, Tabitha had run into Miss Nanami.

She didn't really ask for help, not like she knew how to say it. However, Miss Nanami seemed to understand the situation.

Miss Nanami had asked if Tabitha was in need of assistance, although the girl only replied with a blank look on her face. Of course, she didn't understand what the lady was saying. However, Miss Nanami, who had a son of her own, understood that something was troubling her. When she noticed a few police officers asking around for Tabitha, she quickly brought the girl away, hiding her in the apartment she owned along with her husband. The landlady had helped her out during her entire stay in the new world – bringing her to the library, showing her the way to the jewellery store to trade her New Gold for Japanese Yen, and even provided a living arrangement for the girl. At one point, she even acted as the girl's guardian in order to enrol her into school.

It felt wrong to not actually tell her the truth, but there was often the thought on whether or not she would believe Tabitha's story. In the end, Miss Nanami never actually asked on the matter. She had asked some casual questions, like where she came from and what happened to her parents. Tabitha had tried to answer the questions as honestly as she could, without revealing too much, that is.

"I'm studying something else," was all Tabitha could say for now.

"Good luck on that," Miss Nanami replied with a smile, waving off as Tabitha walked towards the door.

Returning the wave, Tabitha hoped that she could at least say goodbye to her before leaving for her world one day. She really liked Miss Nanami. She didn't ask any excessive questions and was just a generally nice person. In fact, she reminded Tabitha of her mother before her mind had been destroyed thanks to that potion.

The local library was situated a bit far, somewhere towards the eastern part of the town. In order to go there, Tabitha could either take a train or ride a cab. Considering that she was already running low on money, Tabitha opted to ride the train. She would need to do something to get some extra money. Maybe the librarian would allow her to work part-time at the library. Plus, Fuyuna worked there. The soft-spoken girl, who was from the next class, was someone who never spoke ill of Tabitha, eventhough she was always suspicious of Tabitha. She respected her for it, though.

Once Tabitha had entered the train, she noticed Kurisu had also taken the same train, albeit she was not standing close to Tabitha. She was accompanied by her best friend, Nana, and Nana's brother Roku. This was bad. Tabitha never considered that people she knew would be riding the same train as her. Plus, what were they doing going to the library, anyway? Maybe they were going to that fancy restaurant close to the library. Nana was a glutton; she probably managed to get her brother to treat them to something. Either way, Tabitha regretted not wearing a hat or something to cover her face. Socialising wasn't high on her list of things to do before going home.

They were just a few minutes from the station Tabitha wanted to get off on, and the girl was glad that the group had not noticed her. Of course, lady luck just wasn't always on her side today. She had moved towards the double doors of the train when she heard a child-like yell.

"Hey, that's Tabby!" Nana's enthusiastic yell broke through the loud sounds audible on the train "Yoo hoo, Tabby! Over here!"

"Eh, Ice Girl?" Kurisu chimed in as she brushed back her long hair which was dyed white, much to the teachers' fury "What the hell are you calling her for?!"

To this day, Tabitha still wondered what they both saw in each other. Nana was cheerful and a bit of a ditz with her hair styled to look like a cat's ears. She never really insulted Tabitha for her weirdness, though Tabitha knew that Nana was just friendly to everyone.

On the other hand, Kurisu was a rude and snarky girl who, unexpectedly, had a great sense of fashion. A lot of boys had a crush on her, though most of them were beaten up or rejected in the harshest possible way. Many of them woke up in a trash can or bushes on the other side of school Tabitha did not loathe her, though. Kurisu always kept to herself and never made attempts to be popular, much less to insult her on a daily basis like the other girls on campus.

"Come on, girls," Roku, who was a year older, laughed "Just hanging out with you two will be enough for me today."

"You're running out of money, aren't you?" Kurisu smiled with a snarky grin

"Well, that's because I spent most of it treating you, my Crimson Princess."

Kurisu's insane screaming was very apparent as she tried to smash Roku's head open. Tabitha didn't know much about Roku, though she has heard that he was a playboy. Tabitha was reminded of Guiche, who was also famous for two-timing on girls. However, Tabitha noted that the two of them acted differently despite having the same characteristic. Guiche was a charmer, who tried to win girls over with charming words. Roku, on the other hand, was a bad boy who picked up girls thanks to his rebellious attitude.

The train had finally stopped, and the bespectacled girl took this as her cue to leave before the group wanted to invite her to do something else.

She wondered if she would bump into anyone else from school when she remembered what she had thought of last night. Hiraga Saito; he might be hanging around the library. If not to read books, then it was to look for a job. The boy had been complaining that he needed one badly. Hopefully, she would be lucky enough to not cross his path today.

Noticing the library in the distance, Tabitha walked across the street towards the location of the nearby Starbucks. That was when she noticed the very person she had been thinking of, Saito, lounging around with his laptop and an empty cup of cappuccino in front of him.

Thankfully, the spiky-haired Japanese had not noticed her. Without another word, Tabitha walked towards the general direction of the library again. Seeing as there were no events that have triggered along the way, Tabitha considered herself lucky. She passed by Fuyuna once she had entered and nodded her head, to which the other girl didn't pay much attention to. Tabitha was a casual visitor to the library, they didn't need to converse much anymore so Tabitha could find a section she needed.

However, this time, the blue-haired girl did walk up to the counter. This prompted Fuyuna to raise an eyebrow. Did she need some help?

"Where are the medical books?" Tabitha asked casually.

"Upstairs, third row of books from your right. You can't miss it," the raven-haired girl squinted her eyes sceptically "Since when were you interested in medicine?"

"It's for my mother," Tabitha answered curtly before walking away, not wanting to get too much into detail with Fuyuna. Even if she respected her, Fuyuna was a sceptic. Who knows what she might be thinking of.

Once Tabitha had found the library, she started to pick out a few books she considered were close enough to the topic she wanted. She also turned on the computer, opening a translation program in case she came across words she did not know the definition to. And so, Tabitha's end of week routine carried on as they usually did.

Books were wonderful, Tabitha thought. They were a gateway to a world of information and facts, while the fictional books proved to be a gateway to many other worlds and fantasies she could only dream of. Books never judged her or complained about her. The bespectacled girl was lucky to have managed to find the library so early on in her stay here, thanks to her kind caretaker.

Two hours of research and nothing on her mother's illness later, Tabitha started to wonder if she should go back to locating books regarding a way to return home. Maybe she could find a good book today, or an article from an old newspaper. She had picked up the many books sprawled around her and was putting them back into their original locations when she caught the familiar voice of two people she had just passed by.

"Eh, Kurisu?" one of them, obviously male, said with a questioning tone "What are you doing here? You hate the library."

"What the, S-Saito?! I'm returning a book for Nana's bastard brother," the other huffed "Dammit, why the hell am I stuck doing this?! I bet that glutton's already finishing up all the good food!"

"Calm down, we're in a library," the boy sounded worried now "You don't wanna get kicked out again, do you?"

Saito and Kurisu, just her luck. Tabitha didn't want to be bothered today, especially since she saw enough of them on school days. Still, the library was a big place. Maybe they wouldn't notice her. Tabitha released an audible sigh as she went back to placing the books into place. She had finished her round quickly enough and stepped down the stairs when she bumped into someone else.

"Oh, hey Tabitha," Saito greeted kindly, laptop in hand "Surprised to see you here."

Tabitha ignored the boy and continued going downstairs, heading towards the familiar Fantasy section. She heard Saito calling out to her, and the sound of footsteps following from behind. No doubt he wanted to continue where the two left off yesterday. That was just like him, after all. As always, Tabitha ignored the boy as he continued asking if there was anything he could help with.

Not being able to shake off her tail, Tabitha carried on to the Fantasy section and picked out a few books. She was never actually able to get away from the boy whenever he was being considerate and started following her around, earning him the title of "Stalker", so she allowed him to stay. It wasn't like she cared whether or not Saito found out about her strange interest in magic. Most people already knew, after all.

"Other worlds, huh?" Saito scratched his chin when he saw the topic of most of the books before he perked up "I think I read about something like this on an old newspaper article a while back when I was doing a History assignment."

This caught Tabitha's attention.

"Something about two pilots during the World War II era suddenly disappearing, and only one came back. He started babbling about this whole other world, though. People just thought that he went through a lot of mental trauma."

"Show me," said Tabitha, head not moving away from her book

"Well, I have to look for it first, but sure," Saito muttered as he set his laptop down, turning on a few websites on the Mozilla Firefox internet program "I did the project with Kurisu, maybe she could help out."

He called out to the delinquent, who was just about to exit the library, and she grumpily came over. She was surprised when she noticed Tabitha, and even more when Saito asked to help look for an old article they had come across when doing that History assignment a few months back. Kurisu asked for a payment, and Saito begrudgingly took out 500 Yen and paid the girl.

Wondering just how Kurisu could help out, Tabitha watched the two of them closely. The girl pushed Saito off of his chair unceremoniously and quickly played around with the laptop. This was when the aristocrat finally found out that the rowdy girl had a great memory, and pulled out the article in less than five minutes.

"Pretty cool article, if you ask me," Kurisu grumbled as she pushed the squarish device towards Tabitha "But it's complete bullshit. I don't even know why you'd be interested, Ice Girl. Well, I got lunch to go to. See ya."

With that done, Kurisu got up and walked away, mumbling about how she was going to kill Roku if there was no more food for her. Wondering whether or not she should thank the delinquent, Tabitha shrugged as she helped Saito up.

"She's really a good girl, that Kurisu," Saito said as he rubbed the back of his head "I've been her partner for almost every assignment ever since junior high, I should know."

Tabitha considered asking whether or not the relationship between the two of them went any deeper than that, but decided to put that aside. Why should she care about that, anyway? It wasn't like she was going to be a resident of this world forever. Instead, Tabitha focused on the article in front of her. The further in she got, the wider her eyes became.

Back during the World War II era, two pilots of similar Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes were considered MIA when they suddenly disappeared from sight during a dogfight. One of them, a man called Manaka Takuya, returned safely a few days later, although his mental state was one to be questioned. The man stated that he was transported to another world, and had managed to return after flying for a while. Sadly, his friend, Sasaki Takeo, did not make the return trip.

It was vague at best, but it was something.

"This man, is he still alive?" Tabitha suddenly asked, hoping for the best.

"Well, I don't think so. After all, this is a pretty old article," Saito shrugged his shoulders in apology "Although, if we ask around, maybe someone knew about him. He must have children or relatives who are still alive, right?"

Tabitha thanked Saito as she got off from her chair. Finally, a clue to return home. Maybe she could find a way home if she followed the traces of this mysterious pilot. That was when she realised another problem; she didn't really know her way around here. And even if she did, then she would still need assistance in finding out about the pilot. However, there was someone here who did know his way around, and might even be able to help her in looking for the information. With a bit of hesitation, Tabitha turned her head towards Saito.

"I'm free tomorrow," he said, as if he was expecting the girl to ask for his assistance "I could help you out, if you want."

"Thank you," spoke Tabitha simply and she walked back towards the entrance.

Saito, though, was ecstatic. Finally, he could do something to help the sad-looking girl. He considered asking someone else to follow them, though he knew that this wasn't really a chance that he should be messing up. With a wide grin, he started packing up his laptop.

"It's a date!"

Yes, he might have been over-exaggerating, but he has never had a girlfriend before and, eventhough they are going researching and Tabitha probably didn't even think of this as a date, he is going out with another girl. He could at least be hopeful, right?


End file.
